Women, Art & Social Change: The Newcomb Pottery Enterprise

If it was the late 1800s or early 1900s and you were looking for a distinctive vase, plate or bowl, chances are, you’d go to Newcomb Pottery. The collective grew out of the pottery program at H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, a women’s art college in New Orleans that’s now part of Tulane, and quickly became one of the most iconic brands of the time. A fascinating exhibit at Toronto’s Gardiner Museum tracks the impact of the young women who created the richly-hued, glazed pottery Newcomb is known for, and explores the collective’s place in a time of swiftly changing social norms.